Deborah, you raise several very interesting and thorny issues. I think that the issue of duplication of effort has been resolved in most communities of the state by electing to provide adult education through either the local community college or the local high school or unified school district. But your quaestion about hte role of each delivery system is an important one.
A key concern among the K-12 adult education providers is that they will be required to have their students participate in the High School Exit Exam for students seeking a high school diploma or its equivalent. However, community colleges serving adult students through their non-credit program do not feel they are obligated to comply with the High School Exit Exam, even for those students working towards achieving a GED. In many cases very similar course offerings are provided to these students. Included in the charge given to the Adult Education task force by SB 823 is whether adult education providers should be held to the same or similar standards, irrespective of the sector providing the services.
The fact that adult education services are not radically different based on which education sector is providing the service, is the motivation for charging the task force with recommending ways in which reciprocity of credentials to allow teachers to teach the same or similar courses in both settings, community college non-credit and high school settings. Others have also made the common sense argument you have put forth: shouldn't adults be served in adult-serving institutions? There are very strong feelings associated with exploring this question. But consensus should be possible around the advisability of building stronger bridges between adult education and community college credit courses.
Posted as a reply to:
Adult Ed. vs. Community College by Deborah Shanks
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